China’s Tropical Digital Agriculture Base to Boost Rural Revitalization in Hainan

Recently, the Coconut Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS) and Hainan Penghui Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. signed a strategic cooperation agreement to promote the construction of the “Tropical Digital Agriculture Comprehensive Service Demonstration Base”, according to Hainan Daily. This collaboration, joining national scientific research forces, local government and leading market enterprises, is a practical move to respond to the national rural revitalization strategy and the call for agricultural modernization.

Wenchang City in Hainan Province, home to about 350,000 mu of coconut trees, relies on coconuts as a vital source of income for local farmers. However, the traditional agricultural production model is facing multiple challenges, including labor shortages, rising costs and increasing pressure of pest and disease control, according to China Agricultural News. The development of low-altitude economy and smart agriculture, represented by the application of UAVs, has become an urgent need for industrial transformation and upgrading.

The two cooperating parties will give full play to their respective advantages to achieve win-win results. As the only national-level scientific research institution in China focusing on tropical oilseeds and economic palm crops, the Coconut Research Institute of CATAS has long been rooted in tropical areas, with profound accumulation in variety breeding, green cultivation and whole-industry-chain scientific and technological services. “In recent years, we have promoted more than 1 million high-quality seedlings and trained tens of thousands of farmers in Wenchang,” said Li Jun, a researcher at the institute.

Hainan Penghui, as the platform operator of DJI UAVs in Hainan and a leading local smart agriculture enterprise, has a mature market service system. It has served more than 20,000 farmers and trained over 20,000 UAV pilots and agricultural technicians, with rich experience in UAV plant protection and inspection. “Our professional team can provide one-stop smart agricultural services for tropical crop growers,” said Zhang Hong, general manager of Hainan Penghui.

It is understood that the demonstration base will focus on core crops such as coconuts, betel nuts, oil palms and dates, focusing on three key construction directions. Firstly, it will build an integrated UAV plant protection platform for tropical oilseeds and economic palm crops, integrating scientific research data and UAV technology to realize full-chain standardized operations. Secondly, it will establish demonstration and training bases, including a 100-mu-level demonstration park for coconut and betel nut UAV plant protection. Thirdly, it will build an international standard demonstration park to promote Chinese tropical smart agriculture standards and technologies to “go global” in response to the Belt and Road Initiative.

The Wenchang Municipal Party Committee and Government have listed “low-altitude economy + modern agriculture” as a key development direction. This cooperation, as an innovative exploration to seize opportunities, will drive the leapfrog development of scientific management of tropical crops in the city, injecting new vitality into Hainan’s agricultural modernization and rural revitalization.